Clashing Swords

Closer to Yuki and Seiji, the blast from Yori rocked the entire school. While still on opposite sides of the building, it was impossible to ignore what was happening. The school felt like a giant picked it up and shook it about trying to peek inside the windows.

Seiji fared better than Yuki with the explosion. Yuki fell up against one of the doors to a classroom and dropped inside it. He rubbed the back of his head feeling what would likely end up turning into a bump in a few hours. “Damn, what the hell is going on? Someone’s bringing down the whole school!” Yuki started to get back to his feet mumbling in annoyance. “I just put this place back together not too long ago!”

However, in his distraction, Yuki didn’t notice until he fully stood up to take stock of his situation in the classroom. The sight froze him in an instant. It was like walking into a scene from one of his anime that went for a dark and edgy vibe by showing something gritty and horror filled. Yet, on TV he would be spared from it with some well placed black bars or darkened areas to hide everything. He wasn’t so fortunate. Any hope for censorship was gone, he saw everything even though he didn’t want to see it.

And then the smell hit him like one of Seiji’s punches. His knees buckled on the overload. Throwing up seemed like the only possible reaction, but even doing so seemed impossible. The paralysis was complete. Even his body couldn’t react. He had to experience it all without any hope of relief.

With the violent shaking coming to a rest, Seiji managed to pull away from Kaede and Katsumi to see that Yuki disappeared. “Yuki?! Where the hell are you?” He jumped back to where he last saw Yuki. ‘Did they grab him?’ Worry started to build up inside as he couldn’t locate Yuki. “Yuki! Answer me!”

A faint voice crawled into Yuki’s ear. He didn’t recognize it immediately, but it soon became clear. Seiji called for him. His body unlocked and reacted quickly. ‘I can’t let him…’ It was now no longer about what he saw, he had to be sure that Seiji didn’t stumble inside. “I’m coming out!”

“Where are you?!”

“Just stay…there! I’m not harmed.” It was difficult for him to actually say that to Seiji. Yuki never thought just a sight could harm one’s sanity so thoroughly. He never wanted to see it again, but knew that he would carry that with him for forever. It couldn’t be forgotten.

He poked out of the threshold of the door to see where Seiji was as well as Yumi’s friends. They were still in a threatening situation. Unfortunately, he didn’t expect Seiji to just pop out in front of him like a ghost. Either it was his swift step like Saki or he really didn’t notice him until it was too late, but Yuki grabbed onto the threshold as he fell back. Only his desire to protect Seiji from the horrors behind him kept his hand firmly in place. “Seiji?! Damn…don’t jump me like that!”

“What happened to you? You disappeared!”

The visible worry carved into his brow was the first thing that Yuki noticed. “I got knocked off my feet from that explosion. Remember, I’m not built like you guys. I don’t have the reflexes like you.”

“Right, it’s hard to remember with everything you do.”

“Yeah, but that’s not the most important thing right now. Something is going on in the school. Whatever that was, it was enough to make the whole place jump. We need to handle Yumi’s friends quickly. I don’t like the feeling I’m getting here.”

‘Hiroshi and the others aren’t being very subtle. I guess when I leaked our plans to them I didn’t really think about the fact that if we’re all attacking the same place we’re probably going to run into each other. I can’t undo things now…’ Parts of the ruined wall from across the hall snapped as a foot pressed down. The sound turned Seiji immediately back on alert to their opponents. “You two…”

Chapter 321 – Clashing Swords

Back at the blast site, Hiroshi and Tatsuya were shimmying their way through what remained of the hall. All around them the school crumbled a little more. Sounds of fighting around the school rose and fell to their own beat, yet the effects of their fighting reverberated through the building. It made the suddenly frail seeming building quake and wilt.

Rumblings reached one of those peaks just as Tatsuya lowered a foot. The floor already only had a few centimeters left and his weight and cracks surrounding broke the rest of the barely there integrity. He quickly gripped the wall putting his fingers through just to get support back. “Dammit! Why couldn’t he have done things in a more subtle way!”

Hiroshi played the more silent partner to Tatsuya’s chatty act. He focused on the situation buried in all the weight that he bore. “Just keep moving. We’re almost to the other side.”

“Yeah I know. And another thing, why the hell didn’t Yuki give us something more useful like flying. You know in those anime they always can fly. It’d make this a lot easier.”

“I don’t think any of us know what’s going on in his mind. I wonder if we ever did.”

Tatsuya fell silent after Hiroshi's last remark. He remembered how surprised they were in learning how different Yuki was from what they knew at school. Learning about his past as a delinquent came as a bit of a shock. They always knew that Yuki had a history before high school, everyone did. But it was impossible to have guessed how much history he had before them.

And then things only got worse with Takako. It was hard at times not to just dump all of the blame. It would be freeing. Though as they all came to the realization, it didn’t change their situation. Not that everyone was always so understanding. Others wanted a target for their troubles and Takako made it very easy at the moment, but they kept a secret from everyone. The truth wasn’t something the world was ready for, especially Yuki.

Landing on what looked like solid ground, Tatsuya came up beside Hiroshi. The weight of his body made the floor crack a little. It was only a few steps away from the drop off to the first floor. Sure they wouldn’t have been hurt by the fall, but it would just slow them down. Not to mention, their minds still treated such heights like they were normal humans. It left them with the gnawing feeling in the back of their head that it would really hurt falling down. Convincing their brains it wasn’t a problem wasn’t so simple. Fear was a powerful emotion.

But thankfully, the floor held for them. “Safe…not that I can say the same for the school…”

“Or ourselves…”

“Hey man, no need for pessimism again. We’re going to—“

“No, look ahead.”

Tatsuya turned back to where Hiroshi looked to know what concerned him so much. “Oh crap…not what I need right now.”

It was the last of the unaccounted for of their friends, Saki. Wearing the black school uniform like everyone else, though she had her track spats underneath her skirt as well. She stared down at them more of a wall than those that surrounded them.

He quickly remembered how their fight went last time. It might have seemed like he held his own against Saki, but it wasn’t an easy fight. The whole thing was a stalling tactic at the time too. He really didn’t have time for her. But someone had to deal with her.

However before either of them could act, a sudden blast from the ceiling created yet another hole in the school. Behind Saki debris rained down almost as though she used it to prevent anyone from reaching Takako.

A voice from above made it clear that it wasn’t Saki’s doing. “What the hell?! What the hell, Seiji! Stop putting holes in my school! I know you don’t go here so you don’t have any attachment to the building, but can you think about what you’re doing?”

“You know I’m not interested in thinking.”

“Yes, you’re the weird mix of blind idiot and conveniently deep.”

“Enough about me, down the hole! I’ll handle them.”

“But it’s two of them! You can’t take them both on by yourself!”

“And I said you need to get to Takako! Stop this!”

Hiroshi and Tatsuya glanced up sweating a little at the two arguing while in the middle of a very tense situation. Judging from the look on Saki’s face, she didn’t seem to be amused or care about their lack of awareness. She already began to turn around planning on dealing with the threat.

“Yuki!” Hiroshi shouted, though his voice didn’t through to the two.

“You got your powers up right?”

“Something basic to deal with general situations, yeah.”

“Good! Then get going!” Seiji lifted Yuki up by his collar. Aiming him over the large hole in the floor he created, Seiji waved to him as his only send off before dropping him.

“Damn you, Seiji!”

Turning back towards Kaede and Katsumi, Seiji mounted his determination to stand for Yuki. “It’s now just the three of us. Yuki’s got business elsewhere, he doesn’t need to be held up fighting Yumi’s friends. That’s not something he needs on his shoulders too.”

Down on the second floor, Yuki landed on his back, though cushioned by the fall with the help of his mist. He still felt some of the impact through him, but it was more like falling really far on to a mattress. It didn’t knock the wind out of him, but made him groan. “Seiji…I can’t believe him dumping me like that.” Yuki began to stand up trying to get his bearings after the rough treatment. “I thought we were going to fight together…”

“Look out!”

“Hu—“ Yuki couldn’t finish his question before a kick came around his head. If his mist hadn’t been up still protecting him it would have instantly killed him. Instead, it pulled him around and threw him back at Hiroshi and Tatsuya. His body sped through the hall like a bullet completely blowing out the far back side of the school finishing off Yori’s fine work.

Hiroshi and Tatsuya both turned to look where Yuki disappeared into the night. Neither knew if he was alive after taking such a kick. Unfortunately, they didn’t really have much time to think about it. Saki made her stance clear. She held the line keeping anyone from advancing past her.

They stared a little awkwardly at each other, not completely sure what they were going to do. But Saki made their decision for them. She saw them both as threats, naturally. So she turned her attention to them. Her body disappeared and then popped up in between them. Spinning out, she took them both out with a kick to Tatsuya’s stomach and punch to Hiroshi’s face.

Being more resilient than Yuki, they only flew back into the placed classrooms. Tatsuya saw it coming a little better than Hiroshi. He recovered quickly in mid-air and landed on top of a desk, though his force did cause it to slide backwards. When it came to a stop he heard a strange moan pop up from behind him. The thought that he might be surrounded by more of Takako’s army put him on edge.

Such a thought immediately left his mind once he looked in the classroom. “What…the hell?!” A strange odor wafted through the air. He quickly tried to shut his eyes, but he still heard the sounds of all of the different voices coming from around him. ‘What did Takako do to them…to make them do THAT?!’ He really started to believe in Yuki’s theory that it was mind control. It was the only way to explain something so impossible.

Tatsuya jumped off the desk wanting to return to the hallway immediately. He couldn’t take all of the sounds coming from the room any longer. Saki stood waiting for him, likely knowing that it wasn’t enough to take him down. She already had another fist ready for him. But he slipped around it with very little effort.

Saki glared over at him, her left arm still fully extended. “Tatsuya…you won’t escape me this time.”

“I’m going to have to be a little more serious this time around if I’m expecting to live through this.” He pulled up his shirt a little after it had been pulled down from all of the rough treatment. Their fight resumed.